Homeless and needing a state. Please advise.

Dear TA,
You have been with me through the Taiwanese underwater earthquake that killed my internet for over a month on the island of Koh Samui.
You have been with me when I literally had to scale a godamned mountain in Vietnam to get cell phone coverage to upload contributions to this site.
You have been with me through protests in Phuket, Songkran in Pattaya and schooling in Scotland.
So before we get started on this new journey, how about you just tell me what works out best for you, huh?
I'm sort of sick of natural disasters and the mistakes of morons making my access really difficult to attain, so in the hopes of avoiding further conflict down the road, how about you just tell me where to move this time?

Here are the mandatory boxes that have to be checked.
1) No waiting list for a nursing degree. I need a school that can take me when I'm ready. Not the other way around.(Getting all my credits transferred to an American paramedic certification at the moment, though. You've got a bit of time.)
2) Cheaper cost of living, though I'm in the Bay Area now, so I imaging anything is an improvement.
3) Great outdoors. I need em. There better be kick ass diving, hiking, snowboarding, mountain biking and rock climbing somewhere near by.
4) Lax weed laws.
Seriously. I'm an adult with a vaporizer. Leave my personal decisions to me, please.

If you live somewhere that sounds like a good fit, please let me know.
I'm looking to relocate in the next six to eight months.

I realise it's not in America but you could consider Adelaide in South Australia.

My Mum (Mom for you Americans?) got her nursing degree about 7 years ago and says there is still a shortage in the area(i.e. plenty of nursing work in Adelaide atm).

Adelaide is one of the cheapest cities in Australia to live in, with Sydney and Melbourne being among the most expensive I believe.

The only thing lacking from your out-doors list is snowboarding which is about 10 hours drive away during winter only. Other than that there is a fantastic reef at Port Noarlunga which is one of only a handful of locations left where the Leafy Sea Dragon (a Sea Horse about 3 inches long with big leafy fins) is still found in the wild. Mountain biking and hiking are found in abundance in the Flinders Ranges, only a couple hours drive away and you can get lost for days on end if you are not careful.

You grow your own weed? I think Adelaide has de-criminalised one plant(including seeds) grown for personal use. Probably best to check that rather than take my word for it. Used to be three plants....oh well.

Did I mention our forthcoming National Broadband Network(NBN)? Fiber TO THE HOME for about 97% of the population(Basically every state capital). That should be rolled out in about 7 or 8 years now(Tasmania already has it and it is starting be put into other places now).

Anyway, even if you don't move here, you should come on a holiday to check out the out doorsy stuff. Let me know and I'll even join you for some of it :)

Colorado for sure. No doubt about it Colorado. There's no ocean coasts or sandy beaches. But the Rockies make up for that over and over and over again. I promise. As for weed laws they are almost on the same level as Cali. Cost of living depends where you live but over all way better then present costs for you. I lived there for 40 years, it is my home. At present due to a family illness I am stuck in Arkansas, but I promise you the very minute I can move back I will. They don't call it The Mile High City just because of the elevation. And the best by far are the people they are the best. Good Luck. Peace, Shawn

I’ve lived on both coasts. If you are used to theBay area, the east coast will be a huge disappointment. It’s a great place tovisit, but not to live. I hate to say it, but the south might be for you.Nashville is pretty hip, the cost of living is generally very affordable(especially outside of the city), lots of great outdoor adventures to be had, don’tknow about the weed laws, but many of my friends own vaporizers and a plethoraof other weed related paraphernalia. You’d have to investigate the schools, buteverything else seems to be right on target.

@Rick: Ooh, no! Anywhere but the South. The only thing the South has going for it is the low cost of living. Tennessee voted for Mike Huckabee for President, for dog's sake! No free-spirited, weed growing, atheist could be happy there for any length of time.

I don't know how hard it is to get from Britain to another western europe country, but why not The Netherlands. It's great living here, our weed law are the top ten easiest in the world (maybe even topping the list), getting a nursing degree is no problem (there's no waiting list unless you want a higher medical degree) en depending on where you live the cost of living is well manageable.

Our outdoors are pretty good, but we lack mountains, so snowboarding and rock climbing are a bit more difficult. But we are amongst the best countries in the world for cyclists, so you'll be good there.

And I doubt cell-phone coverage will be an issue, the only black spot I've found so far was barely thirty meters across.

@MoTrauen: One would think that TN would be a scaryplace for an atheist, but I’ve been here for a while now and it’s not as “Southern”as you’d expect. Nashville in particular seems to be pretty progressive. I don’tget any more grief here for my lack of belief than I did when I was living in Massachusetts.The south isn’t quite the same as the “deep south.” I think it gets a bad rapbecause people equate the two. If you want totalk about disastrous voting history, CA elected Schwarzenegger not once, buttwice (for governor) and MA had Mitt Romney. Not the same as a presidential election,but goes to show that even “liberal” states shouldn’t always be judged by their voting records.

@Rick: Sorry, but I was speaking from long, painful, personal experience. Tennessee is a horrible place to live if you are an atheist. As for voting, Schwarzenegger is not even remotely comparable to Huckabee. If Schwarzenegger ran for governor of Tennessee, he would be considered a flaming liberal and would have no chance at all.

Misty, Huckabee is from my current place of residence Arkansas, or as I like to call it my own personal hell. And considering I am an Atheist you must understand how really bad I think that is. The Christians are like zombies here, but I truly believe that if you shot them in the head it would not slow them down one iota and really just give them something else to pray about. I have been all over the south and would agree that Nashville is somewhat progressive, but shit still smells like shit no matter how much room freshener you spray on it. From Dallas up to St Louis and over to Washington DC, mark that line on a map and immediately black it out as a possibility. That's just what I think though. Good luck in your search. Peace, Shawn.

@MoTrauen: Perhaps the part you lived in was a bit more typical of the south than what I’m experiencing? My area is surprisingly progressive and one that, as an unabashed atheist, I find to be perfectly suitable. However, the experience is going to change from person to person. I’m sure we could find someone as adamantly dissatisfied with their experiences living in CA or VT as you are with yours in TN. Where were you living? I’d like to make sure to avoid that community if possible.

As for voting… Ha, well... now that his extramarital activities have come out, he might as well be the anti-christ. I don’t think any state would elect him. He’s toxic.